Semiconductors
To say that the global foundry market is booming right now would be an understatement. Demand for leading-edge process technologies driven by AI and HPC applications is unprecedented, and with Intel joining the contract chipmaking game, this market segment is once again becoming rather competitive as well. Yet, this is exactly the market segment that Rapidus, a foundry startup backed by the Japanese government and several major Japanese companies, is going to enter in 2027, when its first fab comes online, just a few years from now. In a fresh update on the status of bringing up the company's first leading-edge fab, Rapidus has revealed that they are intending to get in to the chip packaging game as well. Once complete, the ¥5 trillion ($32...
TSMC Manufacturing Update: N6 to Match N7 Output by EOY, N5 Ramping Faster, Better Yields Than N7
As part of a regular TSMC Technology Symposium, the foundry published updates on its status on it’s current leading-edge manufacturing technologies, the N7, N5 and their respective derivatives such...
50 by Andrei Frumusanu on 6/1/2021
AMD and GlobalFoundries Update Wafer Supply Agreement: Orders Through 2024, Now Non-Exclusive
In a brief Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K filing, AMD this afternoon has revealed that it has once again amended its wafer supply agreement with US fab (and...
41 by Ryan Smith on 5/13/2021
TSMC Update: 2nm in Development, 3nm and 4nm on Track for 2022
For TSMC, being the world's largest foundry with nearly 500 customers has its peculiarities. On the one hand, the company can serve almost any client with almost any requirements...
74 by Anton Shilov on 4/26/2021
Sales of Fab Tools Surge to Over $71 Billion in 2020
SEMI, an organization representing chipmakers and producers of semiconductor production tools, published this week that sales of wafer processing equipment has surged to an all-time record of $71.19 billion...
18 by Anton Shilov on 4/15/2021
SK Hynix to Build $106 Billion Fab Cluster: 800,000 Wafer Starts a Month
Capping off a busy week for fab-related news, South Korea authorities this week gave SK Hynix a green light to build a new, 120 trillion won ($106.35 billion) fab...
41 by Anton Shilov on 4/2/2021
TSMC to Spend $100B on Fabs and R&D Over Next Three Years: 2nm, Arizona Fab & More
TSMC this week has announced plans to spend $100 billion on new production facilities as well as R&D over the next three years. The world's largest contract maker of...
45 by Anton Shilov on 4/2/2021
EUV Pellicles Ready For Fabs, Expected to Boost Chip Yields and Sizes
Foundries started limited usage of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of chips in 2019. At the time, ASML's Twinscan NXE scanners were good enough for production...
35 by Anton Shilov on 3/31/2021
SMIC to Build a New 28nm Fab in Shenzhen: Production to Start in 2022
As further evidence that the ongoing chip crunch is hitting every level of the chip manufacturing chain, Chinese chipmaker SMIC has announced plans to build a new 28nm manufacturing...
12 by Anton Shilov on 3/20/2021
AI Meets Chipmaking: Applied Materials Incorporates AI In Wafer Inspection Process
Advanced system-on-chip designs are extremely complex in terms of transistor count and are hard to build using the latest fabrication processes. In a bid to make production of next-generation...
11 by Anton Shilov on 3/19/2021
GlobalFoundries to Invest $1.4B in Expansion, Potential Earlier IPO
GlobalFoundries this week reiterated plans to invest $1.4 billion this year in expansion of its manufacturing capacities across the world. Around one third of the sum will be co-invested...
21 by Anton Shilov on 3/4/2021
Report: Semi Demand 30% Above Supply, 20% Year-on-Year Growth
Semiconductor foundry offerings are thriving due to unprecedented demand for semiconductors and processors in recent quarters. Analysts from TrendForce believe that in Q1 2021 foundries will increase their revenue...
31 by Anton Shilov on 2/25/2021
TSMC Details 3nm Process Technology: Full Node Scaling for 2H22 Volume Production
At TSMC’s annual Technology Symposium, the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer detailed characteristics of its future 3nm process node as well as laying out a roadmap for 5nm successors in the...
58 by Andrei Frumusanu on 8/24/2020
Marvell Unveils its Comprehensive Custom ASIC Offering
Last week Marvell had updated us with an overview of the company’s new more extensive and comprehensive custom ASIC offerings, detailing the company’s design abilities gained through the company's...
6 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/27/2020
Altair Semiconductor Renames to Sony Semiconductor Israel
Today, after more than four years of being acquired by Sony, Altair Semiconductor is renaming itself as Sony Semiconductor Israel. The IoT focused company over the last few years...
4 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/21/2020
Analog Devices To Buy Maxim Integrated
Today Analog Devices has announced that it will be acquiring Maxim Integrated in a transaction estimated at $21bn. The combined company value is said to end up being valued...
17 by Andrei Frumusanu on 7/13/2020
TSMC To Build 5nm Fab In Arizona, Set To Come Online In 2024
In a big shift to their manufacturing operations – and a big political win domestically – TSMC has announced that the company will be building a new, high-end fab...
100 by Ryan Smith on 5/15/2020
Samsung to Produce DDR5 in 2021 (with EUV)
Samsung is on track to start volume production of DDR5 and LPDDR5 memory next year using a manufacturing technology that will take advantage of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). In...
20 by Anton Shilov on 3/25/2020
SMIC Details Its N+1 Process Technology: 7nm Performance in China
SMIC first started volume production of chips using its 14 nm FinFET fabrication process in Q4 2019. Since then, the company has been hard at work developing its next...
20 by Anton Shilov on 3/23/2020
GlobalFoundries & Everspin Extend MRAM Pact to 12nm
GlobalFoundries and Everspin have announced that the two have extended their Spin-transfer Torque (STT-MRAM) joint development agreement (JDA) to 12LP (12 nm FinFET) platform. The extension will enable GlobalFoundries...
4 by Anton Shilov on 3/13/2020
TSMC & Broadcom Develop 1,700 mm2 CoWoS Interposer: 2X Larger Than Reticles
With transistor shrinks slowing and demand for HPC gear growing, as of late there has been an increased interest in chip solutions larger than the reticle size of a...
18 by Anton Shilov on 3/4/2020
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